Circored and Circofer processes of ironmaking Circored and Circofer processes of ironmaking are fluidized bed based iron ore fines reduction processes. These processes completely avoid agglomeration process and make direct use of iron ore fines. Since the processes use non coking coal, necessity of coke oven battery is not there. Fluidized bed technology is ideally suited to energy-intensive processes like direct reduction because it enables high heat and mass transfer rates. Both the Circored and the Circofer processes have been developed by Lurgi Metallurgie GmbH, Germany (now Outotec Oyj, Finland) for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) from iron ore fines. For both processes, capacities above 1 million tons per annum are possible in a single production unit, resulting in improved economies of scale. Circored process is hydrogen (H2) based process while the Circofer process is coal based. Circored has a two-stage configuration in order to achieve a high metallization of 90 % to 95 %, whereas Circofer has a single-stage configuration which can achieve pre-reduction up to a metallization of around 70 %. Circofer coal-based process produces pre-reduced feed material for smelting reduction reactors, such as AusIron, or electric smelting furnaces – the final product being hot metal or pig iron. Circored process Circored process uses fluidized beds on a scale adopted by Outotec for other applications. Development of the process was initiated in the late 1970s with the pilot plant tests conducted at the ELRED plant of ASEA in Sweden. Tests were also carried out in the 3 tons per hour CFB reactor demonstration unit at Thyssen Stahl in Duisburg, Germany. These tests had focused on the treatment of steel plant wastes. The first commercial Circored unit was built in 1998 by Cliffs and Associates Ltd. at Point Lisas Industrial Complex...